[thelist] RE: Does web design have a future in 'high wage' countries? (wasQuestion])

[David Siedband]

On Jul 23, 2004, at 1:23 PM, Chris George wrote:

>> Then why not find other freelancers/what have you who
>> complement your skills? You don't ask a carpenter to build
>> the whole house by himself.
>
> Ummmmmm no offence, but in this day and age of outsourcing development
> labour to cheap 3rd-party countries, that's not a very good analogy. 
> :-P
>
> I've seen and talked with the crew that built my house...
> --

I agree with the analogy.  It is useful to be realistic about your own 
skill set and bring in others when necessary.  For example if your 
strengths are in composing layouts, it may make sense to get together 
with a developer.  If you have coding skills, it might make sense to 
pair up with an illustrator / pixel-slinger.  In combination you can 
get projects that you may not alone.

There is a lot of value in being able to offer a complete solution by 
bundling your services with others.

I hear a lot of people reacting to international outsourcing out of 
fear rather than rationality.  I think companies value having a 
contractor in the same region.  For the employer/client, there is a 
trust created in personal meetings/interaction and a value to working 
with designers and developers with whom you can easily communicate in 
your native language, and who understand your market and culture.  If 
we can effectively convey this to our clients, we don't have a lot to 
be concerned about.
--
David